Absolutely. The problem is that over the course of 10 years and collabs I have learned that the main reason for being non specific is disclosure (they don't like it). It started when brands began charging 2,3,4,5,6000 dollars for sets with drivers in 300 sets. They were gilding the lilly with nice shells and presentation. They have even toyed with NDA blocking graphs being published which I broke (Empire Ears) so they can front load preorders and lock money in. and others using Bellsing which has a bad rep and rough sound that is in $25 sets. If a company is making objectively superior or innovative BA drivers it would be of great benefit to shout that out loud and directly compete for your attention and money. If anyone corners a market objectively they stand on it. MONEY. Vague is where the bullshit dwells. Softears just told me they are very transparent about there BA and cited an interview in Japan posted on X. The website gives a series # and 2 sets that inspired them. The 2DD stuff is actually worse. It's a 1DD with a suspension.flex dampener. A "Dynamic Driver" is a motor design..it's old and it's not OK to slap a cap on a cap and put 2DD in the descript. Total bullshit. The BA actually sound nice so it's (the BA vague...check this interview on X stuff) is lame. Talk big shit when you have the goods. not when you think you have enough reviewers to let you slide.
So far I think only subtonic can be trusted to make good custom drivers, others can be really iffy at times from what I've seen, more often than not it turns out to be bellsing...
These have 5 BA and all are Sonion. It's easy to check em out. No trust us bro shit going on. Also beautiful shells. Goodluck to the person below who may score em. great set shoulda got a review months back
Mate I’m just waiting to get your Punch iems they look absolutely amazing I’ve saved up for over a year to buy an expensive pair. Another month and I should be able to buy them. Thanks very much for all the work you do .
Taking names and kicking ass, love the EPZ 530, they make some great sets great they list the drivers, and great your championing this, your so right and thank you for looking out for the community. Is hope it’s a wave that cascades down and others follow. You say rant, we say thanks for using your platform to better the hobby, improve all our experiences
How fantastic that EPZ used legit branded drivers. Thanks for doing a full review on this set so we can be confident that music sounds wonderful on it.
Always love when I can hear the excitement in Chris's voice at finding a great set whether budget or TOL. Thanks for the honest review and yes the rant/truth that needs said, hope this finds you and yours doing great. Take care and God Bless...
Calling these custom BA's, "trust me bro drivers" is hilarious 😂 Anyways, I started my audiophile journey with the Tangzu Waners and that's also when I started to love vocal forward iems. I hope I can get this set as an insane upgrade jump 😆 grateful for your work man. More power to you!
With the custom BAs it's just like in the supermarket when the packaging says "new improved recipe". Actually they should write on it "we managed to reduce the production costs and sell it to you at the same price".
i love how you have your heart on your tongue when speaking out for the average customers and im glad you didnt lose your passion after all those years. cheers to many more years
This set's been available for a while. I was considering it when I was seeking an all BA set. However no demo is available in local store. I didn't want to risk it then bought the Tea Pro after watching your review. 😁 btw, support the transparency of drivers being used, customer's right.
Nice looking set. The EPZ Q5 Pro is a very good set as well. Also, I enjoyed the rant. As somebody who pre-ordered the Deuce on August 1st and chose FedEx Expedited Shipping, and didn't receive it until December 12th, I appreciate your rant. Fatfreq really shot themselves in the foot, because the Deuce sounds great...but God forbid that I ever have to contact them for repairs/etc.
Before watching your vids i didnt realise how drivers actually matter cause i didnt see anybody else bring it to light like you, gotta apreciate an honest creator
The jade green shell is sexy! Also completely agree on the "custom" ba shit. While it's a cost saver for the budget area, you can't just pay hundreds to thousands of dollars on stuff that is only known by the manufacturer itself. Imagine buying a 5000$ pc and you can't see the internals so you have to just trust the builder that they did the honest job to slap a 4090 on your pc.
EPZ Rocks! They have great customer service and they know how to tune. They don't typically do bass head sets they do clean sets with excellent treble and clean bass. The green shell on the 530 is the VIBE! 😍
Love the title, what more could we want?!? lol... I am glad you went into the stuff with the custom drivers because as someone who is fairly new to the IEM space it just seems so shady. That would never work in the rest of the business world but these companies are getting away with it. SMH. Appreciate you keep it real man!
Custom is a term used to convince people they made something better than the original. The market is full of custom things that are just junk. Dynaudio researches, develops and manufactures their own drivers and they are proud of that. That is in not custom modified anything. It’s part of their products. Nice review. Glad you did not edit anything out.
Thank you for this one! The green EPZ 530 is aesthetically my favorite IEM, absolutely stunning. Haven't humored them as I was afraid the BAs and I hadn't seen any reviewers I really trust covering it. I feel a little lost in the BA stuff, but I've stayed largely in the DD lane. That said 'rants' like these are really informative and help me suss out what practices to look out for, so it's more than welcome. Saving us poor dirty casuals from future bad investments.😅
Hey, Chris! Greatly appreciate this video. Tbth, I have always been a total DD fan because I like my bass. I guess I'm a basshead then, but I also like my mids and treble, as long as they are presented in a smooth and unfatiguing manner. Detail, imaging and soundstage is very nice to have; but for me, in the end, the musical performance has to come through; whether it be a live or studio recording. In my limited experience, Sonion BA drivers my favorite, followed closely by Knowles. Being a basshead and an old school kinda guy, I still love my DD'S. But I'd never ever buy something in this price range without knowing what brand and model number of BA'S used in the set.
Finally... Saw the EPZ 530 on other channels and was eager to have your take on it. The green one looks stunning. Thanks for unveiling the dark side of the hobby. As always thanks for the video.
This really does look promising, good to hear that they got the bass with BAs right, with so many hybrids these days it's getting harder for single driver IEMs to compete. Thanks for the review!
I have no issue with “custom” drivers. But tell us model numbers so we can see which drivers we like or don’t like. It would be amazing to see the FR for each driver as well. Like a menu at a restaurant. Keep up the great work.
Love the colorway of the shells for this set! Companies need to deliver once the product has been paid for, that or a full refund if they can't. Good QA is what makes a brand stand out from the others in the space!
The marketing plays a role here. They should call them "generic drivers" instead of "custom drivers". Custom sounds like bespoke, which in not the case.
Better late then never big dawg🔥 No harm in dropping a review late. It keeps the set relevant honestly. EPZ has really been dropping some gems. I never really paid much attention to them ever since they came out with their "gaming" IEMs cos that was really not a genre I savvied, but I think I should change that. The rant was much needed. You gotta put the foot down at some point. Really hoping more reviewers pick up on this
Those are gorgeous especially in the green. Sonions are what's in my hybrid set and I have no complaints! Never had an all BA set though so that's probably a bit different, but keep ranting. It's important. Transparency is key.
The concept of reviewing nowadays let many companies to get away with the bs they're trying to pull The game slowly shifts the focus where the loot is. Thankful for having you in the community though. Never stop keeping it 100 no matter what 🙏
Some might find your rants to come across as abrasive or aggressive, but I completely agree with your take on this. Be transparent about what you're using inside, even if they are self-developed. It's like selling a car with a random mystery engine. Absurd that some people defend this practice. Set looks fantastic btw, looks like an amazing tuning.
I love me a bit of stab wood, when shaped into a pair of iems for me it becomes art! Looks, Good sound, I've got my eyes on this set! No matter being a bit late, thanks for your take on this set! I definitely agree, and support your standing on the generic, pushed as "custom" I'll be steering clear of all outside the budget stuff boasting this trend!
happy thursday. If anything i think the rant is needed, to often today are we being left in the dark by companies especially when speeding hundreds of dollars on sets. Anyway keep up the great work always love the reviews
Im in agreement with you buddy. Every other audio industry is absolutely transparent. These bums are trying to get over. All of the reviewers should be calling this out. If they aren't, it makes them kind of suspect in my opinion. Good work keep it up! Peace and Love!
Yeah I wish they would just be up front about it. “Custom” you say? Then document them with a clear model number so that we, as the consumer, can know what we are getting and are able to track the potential QA issues going forward when they are used in more sets.
I completely agree about custom drivers, even if the model number of a branded Sonion or Knowles doesn’t tell me anything. There are also dozens of models, but this is a guarantee of quality workmanship. It’s a shame when you wait about a month for headphones, listen and get disappointed, and it’s not a small price to pay
Keep ranting bro. I appreciate that you are serious about promoting value in the quality of an iem. Doesn't matter if the iem is $30 or $1000, what's inside the product, the customer service after the sale and reviewers opinions are important in my purchasing decisions. WOOF! 🐕
One more thing: when this set was first launched (EPZ 530) it was at about half the price it is now.... probably because i had some success, they raised the price at 500+. There are people on forums saying they got it for 300 or less...if I am not mistaking, also in Linsoul comments someone said it was much cheaper. Anyway, happy to hear it is good.
Looked at that forever but never pulled the trigger on getting it. Love the green one and the box is sweet. guess I should have gave it a try on my way up...
Everything about this set looks sweet man. usually not a fan of green shells but i love it on this one and of course totally agree about the drivers there's a reason why the words sonion and knowles is usually used as advertisement for an iem i hope the custom unknown trend either disappears or becomes more transparent...
I assumed that custom meant "something developed in-house that we're proud of", I had no idea it was a way to cut corners. Thank you for talking about this! Also, what're your thoughts on Oriveti? I've had their O400 for some time and really enjoy it.
Couldnt some custome drivers be better if they know what they're doing or could they be made my Knowles but nonbranded?
Absolutely. The problem is that over the course of 10 years and collabs I have learned that the main reason for being non specific is disclosure (they don't like it). It started when brands began charging 2,3,4,5,6000 dollars for sets with drivers in 300 sets. They were gilding the lilly with nice shells and presentation. They have even toyed with NDA blocking graphs being published which I broke (Empire Ears) so they can front load preorders and lock money in. and others using Bellsing which has a bad rep and rough sound that is in $25 sets. If a company is making objectively superior or innovative BA drivers it would be of great benefit to shout that out loud and directly compete for your attention and money. If anyone corners a market objectively they stand on it. MONEY. Vague is where the bullshit dwells. Softears just told me they are very transparent about there BA and cited an interview in Japan posted on X. The website gives a series # and 2 sets that inspired them. The 2DD stuff is actually worse. It's a 1DD with a suspension.flex dampener. A "Dynamic Driver" is a motor design..it's old and it's not OK to slap a cap on a cap and put 2DD in the descript. Total bullshit. The BA actually sound nice so it's (the BA vague...check this interview on X stuff) is lame.
Talk big shit when you have the goods. not when you think you have enough reviewers to let you slide.
Dang.. Putting it that way sounds scummier than I had imagined..
So far I think only subtonic can be trusted to make good custom drivers, others can be really iffy at times from what I've seen, more often than not it turns out to be bellsing...
I mean at some point Knowles were unknown.
@@nomad_20XX I opened my storm. They don't make their own drivers. I don't think they claimed that though
These have 5 BA and all are Sonion. It's easy to check em out. No trust us bro shit going on. Also beautiful shells. Goodluck to the person below who may score em. great set shoulda got a review months back
Mate I’m just waiting to get your Punch iems they look absolutely amazing I’ve saved up for over a year to buy an expensive pair. Another month and I should be able to buy them. Thanks very much for all the work you do .
Absolutely beautiful. It's a plus they sound good. I trust ya.
Sweet!
0:00 Start
0:44 Giveaway
3:50 BASS
6:35 Vocals
8:21 Harmonics
9:15 Rant totally unplanned
Taking names and kicking ass, love the EPZ 530, they make some great sets great they list the drivers, and great your championing this, your so right and thank you for looking out for the community. Is hope it’s a wave that cascades down and others follow. You say rant, we say thanks for using your platform to better the hobby, improve all our experiences
I love the look of these. The wood is such a nice touch and I wonder why others do not also use this medium. Thanks!
Glad you decided to leave the rant in as it's always good to hear. Gorgeous shells and really nice unboxing with the wood.
How fantastic that EPZ used legit branded drivers. Thanks for doing a full review on this set so we can be confident that music sounds wonderful on it.
Always love when I can hear the excitement in Chris's voice at finding a great set whether budget or TOL.
Thanks for the honest review and yes the rant/truth that needs said, hope this finds you and yours doing great.
Take care and God Bless...
Calling these custom BA's, "trust me bro drivers" is hilarious 😂
Anyways, I started my audiophile journey with the Tangzu Waners and that's also when I started to love vocal forward iems. I hope I can get this set as an insane upgrade jump 😆 grateful for your work man. More power to you!
Waner is my daily driver. Never thought I'm a vocal forward guy until I got them.
love that you stay true to yourself and keeping these companies accountable and transparent.
With the custom BAs it's just like in the supermarket when the packaging says "new improved recipe". Actually they should write on it "we managed to reduce the production costs and sell it to you at the same price".
i love how you have your heart on your tongue when speaking out for the average customers and im glad you didnt lose your passion after all those years. cheers to many more years
Absolutely adore the look of these EIMs. Can't say I knew too much about custom drivers but now I have been enlightened! Awesome review. Good work.
Been waiting for your review of the 530 for a hot minute now!
This set's been available for a while. I was considering it when I was seeking an all BA set. However no demo is available in local store. I didn't want to risk it then bought the Tea Pro after watching your review. 😁 btw, support the transparency of drivers being used, customer's right.
Thanks for the rec! EPZ 530 tuning is right up my alley. :)
Nice looking set. The EPZ Q5 Pro is a very good set as well. Also, I enjoyed the rant. As somebody who pre-ordered the Deuce on August 1st and chose FedEx Expedited Shipping, and didn't receive it until December 12th, I appreciate your rant. Fatfreq really shot themselves in the foot, because the Deuce sounds great...but God forbid that I ever have to contact them for repairs/etc.
Before watching your vids i didnt realise how drivers actually matter cause i didnt see anybody else bring it to light like you, gotta apreciate an honest creator
The jade green shell is sexy! Also completely agree on the "custom" ba shit. While it's a cost saver for the budget area, you can't just pay hundreds to thousands of dollars on stuff that is only known by the manufacturer itself. Imagine buying a 5000$ pc and you can't see the internals so you have to just trust the builder that they did the honest job to slap a 4090 on your pc.
Happy Thursday HBB I hope you and your family are having a great start of the year 😊❤
Glad you are keep pushing the transparency theme, keep the good work.
EPZ Rocks! They have great customer service and they know how to tune. They don't typically do bass head sets they do clean sets with excellent treble and clean bass. The green shell on the 530 is the VIBE! 😍
Love the title, what more could we want?!? lol... I am glad you went into the stuff with the custom drivers because as someone who is fairly new to the IEM space it just seems so shady. That would never work in the rest of the business world but these companies are getting away with it. SMH. Appreciate you keep it real man!
Custom is a term used to convince people they made something better than the original. The market is full of custom things that are just junk. Dynaudio researches, develops and manufactures their own drivers and they are proud of that. That is in not custom modified anything. It’s part of their products. Nice review. Glad you did not edit anything out.
@@SoundMike I own two Dynaudio drivers. 😍
Thank you for this one! The green EPZ 530 is aesthetically my favorite IEM, absolutely stunning. Haven't humored them as I was afraid the BAs and I hadn't seen any reviewers I really trust covering it. I feel a little lost in the BA stuff, but I've stayed largely in the DD lane. That said 'rants' like these are really informative and help me suss out what practices to look out for, so it's more than welcome. Saving us poor dirty casuals from future bad investments.😅
Hey, Chris! Greatly appreciate this video. Tbth, I have always been a total DD fan because I like my bass. I guess I'm a basshead then, but I also like my mids and treble, as long as they are presented in a smooth and unfatiguing manner. Detail, imaging and soundstage is very nice to have; but for me, in the end, the musical performance has to come through; whether it be a live or studio recording. In my limited experience, Sonion BA drivers my favorite, followed closely by Knowles. Being a basshead and an old school kinda guy, I still love my DD'S. But I'd never ever buy something in this price range without knowing what brand and model number of BA'S used in the set.
These are an exceptional set. I definitely had wondered why this didn't get a full review.
Nice IEM. I wasn't able to connect when you reviewed this IEM. It looks absolutly gorgeous.
Have a blast Sir Chris!
Another good set🔥 keep it awesome.
Bug fan from Philippines 🇵🇭🤍
Finally... Saw the EPZ 530 on other channels and was eager to have your take on it. The green one looks stunning.
Thanks for unveiling the dark side of the hobby.
As always thanks for the video.
Beautiful looking set. Also I really appreciate that you call out bad practices companies have.
This really does look promising, good to hear that they got the bass with BAs right, with so many hybrids these days it's getting harder for single driver IEMs to compete. Thanks for the review!
Thank you for the review, and thank you for leaving in the rant.
One of the prettiest sets I’ve seen that fits some of my personal tastes
Have a nice day and gl to everyone else participating in the giveaway
I have no issue with “custom” drivers. But tell us model numbers so we can see which drivers we like or don’t like. It would be amazing to see the FR for each driver as well. Like a menu at a restaurant.
Keep up the great work.
Love the EPZ, such a good set. I got to test them for a few hours once. Really clean vocals, you're 100% right about that.
Love the looks of this, happy to hear it's a good set as well 🎉
Happy Thursday from Portugal bro! Keep it up! 🙏👌
Love the colorway of the shells for this set! Companies need to deliver once the product has been paid for, that or a full refund if they can't. Good QA is what makes a brand stand out from the others in the space!
Keep the push for the driver transparency up!
It is so good and on that scale so much on the right, that it is not visible on screen 😃 Interesting set, thanks for letting us know 👍
Respect man! Man should never appologise for being a good father. Good for you. Thanks for a great content as usual.
Thank you bro!
@@BadGuyGoodAudioReviews No thank you. We apriciate you giving us your time and undurstand family comes first!
This totally falls of my radar. Great review. Truly worth considering set.
No apologies needed. With the IEM of the hour, it is easy to miss one. Better late than never! Thanks for the money trees rec. Nice rant logo!
I'm all for this push for full disclosure. Thank you for going to bat for everyone.
Righteous rants are always welcome and needed! :)
The marketing plays a role here. They should call them "generic drivers" instead of "custom drivers". Custom sounds like bespoke, which in not the case.
Better late then never big dawg🔥
No harm in dropping a review late. It keeps the set relevant honestly. EPZ has really been dropping some gems. I never really paid much attention to them ever since they came out with their "gaming" IEMs cos that was really not a genre I savvied, but I think I should change that.
The rant was much needed. You gotta put the foot down at some point. Really hoping more reviewers pick up on this
Those are gorgeous especially in the green. Sonions are what's in my hybrid set and I have no complaints! Never had an all BA set though so that's probably a bit different, but keep ranting. It's important. Transparency is key.
Bought this last year at a good price and really love it. Beautiful in orange/brown and very comfortable to wear.
The concept of reviewing nowadays let many companies to get away with the bs they're trying to pull
The game slowly shifts the focus where the loot is. Thankful for having you in the community though. Never stop keeping it 100 no matter what 🙏
Keep the pressure on these companies to be clear with what components are being used, and to provide reasonable customer service!
Your rants are welcome when they enlighten us about company bs!
Thanks, Good review and commitment, as always. They look nice, maybe expensive for my wallet, have a good time. Waiting for more epz drops here.
EPZ as a whole seem like an interesting brand and company. Hopefully they continue to grow this year.
Some might find your rants to come across as abrasive or aggressive, but I completely agree with your take on this. Be transparent about what you're using inside, even if they are self-developed. It's like selling a car with a random mystery engine. Absurd that some people defend this practice.
Set looks fantastic btw, looks like an amazing tuning.
Thanks for the honest review buddy, the shells are real nice
Hey man, respect for being a good father 🤙
Always enjoy ur content and hope u keep putting out great vids. Btw, fuckn enjoyed that rant
These are so dope looking. Come with a great cable. Might have to grab these at the next sale
Man, its hard nowdays to find someone who honest as u👍
I love me a bit of stab wood, when shaped into a pair of iems for me it becomes art! Looks, Good sound, I've got my eyes on this set! No matter being a bit late, thanks for your take on this set! I definitely agree, and support your standing on the generic, pushed as "custom" I'll be steering clear of all outside the budget stuff boasting this trend!
Thank you for being so vocal about that "custom driver" situation, it's only going to get worse if no one says anything
cool set, good that epz describes what drivers theyre using. its better to know.
I love that is wood in a world of resin.
This set is awesome-looking. Thanks for the review!!!
happy thursday. If anything i think the rant is needed, to often today are we being left in the dark by companies especially when speeding hundreds of dollars on sets. Anyway keep up the great work always love the reviews
Totally agree with disclosing driver type, make and exact model numbers so the buyer can verify exactly what they purchased.
Respect, man, for your time and effort! 👍
Beautiful set! Custom vs non custom is always interesting
Thanks for not editing the 'rant' out. Its important for people to know 👍
Thanks for speaking up for the regular people
Keep it up, I love watching these
All good man, I'm just happy to have a video from you to watch
The more options for me to save up for that would compete with the tea pro the better
Beautiful set. Thanks for your honest reviews.
I hear you. keep hammering the brand issue till they get it. what a fine iem the 530 is. big thanks.
Will definitely do that ✅
No big deal. You forget sometimes considering just how many sets you unbox amd review. Glad the 530 got the well deserved review 🎉
Im in agreement with you buddy. Every other audio industry is absolutely transparent. These bums are trying to get over. All of the reviewers should be calling this out. If they aren't, it makes them kind of suspect in my opinion. Good work keep it up! Peace and Love!
Hope the whole scene gets better soon! This set sounds pretty interesting though!
Yeah I wish they would just be up front about it. “Custom” you say? Then document them with a clear model number so that we, as the consumer, can know what we are getting and are able to track the potential QA issues going forward when they are used in more sets.
I completely agree about custom drivers, even if the model number of a branded Sonion or Knowles doesn’t tell me anything. There are also dozens of models, but this is a guarantee of quality workmanship. It’s a shame when you wait about a month for headphones, listen and get disappointed, and it’s not a small price to pay
I love the green shell of EPZ. Thanks for the good stuff.
Keep ranting bro. I appreciate that you are serious about promoting value in the quality of an iem. Doesn't matter if the iem is $30 or $1000, what's inside the product, the customer service after the sale and reviewers opinions are important in my purchasing decisions. WOOF! 🐕
Thanks for the review, and let's go Sonion drivers !
Yeah beautiful set, i'm not usually a fan of full-BA sets but this one seems amazing
I got this one 7 months back in orange and it's stunning. It's a decent set with good hardware.
One more thing: when this set was first launched (EPZ 530) it was at about half the price it is now.... probably because i had some success, they raised the price at 500+. There are people on forums saying they got it for 300 or less...if I am not mistaking, also in Linsoul comments someone said it was much cheaper. Anyway, happy to hear it is good.
Looked at that forever but never pulled the trigger on getting it. Love the green one and the box is sweet. guess I should have gave it a try on my way up...
Everything about this set looks sweet man. usually not a fan of green shells but i love it on this one and of course totally agree about the drivers there's a reason why the words sonion and knowles is usually used as advertisement for an iem i hope the custom unknown trend either disappears or becomes more transparent...
Hopefully other companies will start doing what KZ is doing with their BAs and naming them so that folks can start getting notes on them.
The color and wooden shell looks beautiful.
I was waiting forna review of this set since the audiphilw event
happy thursday man, im a fan of sonion BA drivers too
Really beautiful set
Respect for branded drivers 👏
Thank you for your hard work to tell the truth to everyone, I support your choice🔥
Nice video! Finally some love for the sonion BAs.
Love the look of it, plus wood is a wonderful material. Thought only UM used it.
Great content as always man. Love me a mid centric set!
I assumed that custom meant "something developed in-house that we're proud of", I had no idea it was a way to cut corners. Thank you for talking about this!
Also, what're your thoughts on Oriveti? I've had their O400 for some time and really enjoy it.
I like that the shells are made out of wood, that´s unusual and I find it to be cool. Though I like the orange version more 😅
Still supporting the push for companies' transparency with their drivers